Applebee's Work-life balance reviews

Love working here I've made a lot of friends since I started. Our management's great and they do their jobs and they listen if you need help with something.

Pros

Just about any time you ask off you'll probably get off.

Cons

Long hours

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Avoid working here

Server/Bartender (Former Employee) - Coventry Hills, AB - 25 July 2023

Over 10 years in the industry and this place is by far the worst. No regard for staff well being. Food is pre-made in the morning and then microwaved throughout the day. Sometimes using the same foot made from a few days ago.

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Insights into Applebee's

Based on 39 survey responses

What people like

Time and location flexibility
Feeling of personal appreciation
Supportive environment

Areas for improvement

Trust in colleagues
Support from manager
Overall satisfaction

Bad time

Line cool (Former Employee) - Barrie - 13 December 2019

I remember working for this place and disliking it everyday I had to go into that place. The Barrie GM wasn’t a kinda person. Always seem to have problems with employes. And made it stressful. the money to work there was min wage. Why would anyone wanna work in a kitchen and be paid min wage and treated like less than.

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Great Team, High Expectations, Chill Job.

Server (Current Employee) - Thunder Bay, ON - 5 October 2019

The expectation first and foremost is that you be a team player, the place is exceptional to work at because there’s always a rush, always some fast paced work to get down to. Although your expectations are high, the team is there to keep each other afloat and help one another out. You end up feeling like you’re part of a family at the end of the day, and it doesn’t have the same feeling of dread to come into that other serving jobs do

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Safe place to work but be careful of managers

General Utilities (Former Employee) - Windsor, ON - 11 May 2019

Applebee's was a safe place to work and was accommodating to the needs of their employees. They made sure that you are well trained before doing unsupervised shifts. They are more likely to promote people who are able to work more hours than others but they generally react in a positive manner if you offer to help with something that is out of your normal duties. The danger comes from the personal views of the managers. Most of the managers that I had were rather positive to who I was as a person and my struggles but I had one manager ruin the experience for me. He was rude, condescending, treated people with mental illnesses poorly, and he let people that bullied others get away with it. The work was easy enough once you got the rhythm of the day, but he made shifts more unbearable than they should have been. But I have heard that he left so it should be okay for people to work there without suffering from his negativity. Applebee's does have a problem with revolving managers so that is why I added that one should be careful about managers because a manager that is determined to make life difficult for you and other co-workers can cause trouble. A typical day at work for dishwashers change from day-to-day depending on what day it was and what specials and discounts were being offered. Many of the dishes include cheese that can easily melt all over the plate and will be near impossible to remove if not scraped and steel-wool scrubbed off. Egg yolks are a problem too. But there are tools to get everything done. The squeegee for cleaning the station afterwards can also -

Pros

Half-priced meals. Good people to work with, free fountain drinks and coffee (Trust me, you'll need the coffee)

Cons

Revolving door of managers, some coworkers are mean, standing for long periods of time.

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This is a best one place.

Dishwasher (Former Employee) - Niagara Falls, ON - 23 April 2019

Better Peacefull work place. There is too much cleaning, workers are very kind hearted. Every kind of services are best and management is also best. Every people who come here feel happy.

Pros

give me alot of experience

Cons

nothing

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Work

Kitchen Staff (Former Employee) - Windsor, ON - 9 April 2019

Finding things out on your own. Working at a high speed environment and cleaning as you go, being well prepared everyday for work and learning new things all the time.

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It's your typical waitressing job

Server/Bartender (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 22 March 2019

It's your typical waitressing job, dealing with picky and difficult customers, running around, no breaks, but some of my best memories have been working there and making lifelong friends.

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Friendly, warm environment with great food

Hostess/ Food Runner (Former Employee) - Cambridge, ON - 1 March 2019

Much of my role was greeting and seating guests. Most of the time, the guests were very kind and complimentary of the restaurant and service. Some regular guests even ask for specific servers because of the amazing service they provide, and amazing people they are. The restaurant can get quite busy and hectic on Friday and Saturday nights, but the staff and management work well together, and work hard to ensure that every guest gets the best experience! For sure a great place to work.

Pros

Delicious food and great staff

Cons

Hectic pace of work at times

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great staff/fun environment

Assistant General Manager (Former Employee) - Barrie, ON - 29 November 2018

Great staff to work with. Hours of operation were condusive to a work/life balance. Overall a positive work environment. Everyone is focussed on providing a great guest experience with a value driven menu.

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Challenging yet rewarding place of employment

Cook/Cashier (Former Employee) - Edmonton, AB - 14 September 2018

Great management but not enough staff on. Very heavy work load for minimum compensation. I liked working with a team and the busy nights were a rush.

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Coworkers amazing, Boss meh

Gu/PrepCook/line/expo (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 19 August 2018

Worked here for 4-5 years, loved it. Got destroyed on line every Friday and Saturday but that is the nature of this industry. Coworkers are friendly and like a family. Only cons are hours are business determined so if you want full time be the designated opener or closer(nature of hospitality industry). Mid shifts like 4-6 hours. Overall great place to work and make friends.

Pros

Coworkers, management

Cons

Business determined hours

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Great staff and decent pay. But management another story

FRONT/BACK OF HOUSE SUPERVISOR (Former Employee) - Winnipeg, MB - 2 August 2018

Keep taking things away from employees and you start to take away a reason to work there. Too money hungry. Not enough about the job being done, just enough to save the money. No passion in a place like this. Staff is what makes these kinds of jobs

Pros

Great staff. Good pay for Supervisors and up

Cons

No benefits for Managers. Not willing to work with employees to find solutions.

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Work place was good

Continental Cuisine Cook (Former Employee) - Brandon, MB - 11 September 2017

The management was good. But the internal management is not up to the mark. It has to grow more professional attires with the growth of the industry. The services were satisfactory.

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Stopped scheduling

Line Cook/Prep (Former Employee) - Regina, SK - 5 July 2017

When I started working there, I used to get a good amount of hours. I was getting around 20 to 25 hours a week. Due to school in September I asked for less hours. I used to get Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. As time went by, I only get less and less hours. It was getting to the point where I only used to get one shift per week. As time went by even more, it got to the point where I didn't get a SINGLE shift for almost 4 weeks in a row. So the new method of dismissing employees is not even telling them that they are OFFICIALLY dismissed?

Pros

50% off food.

Cons

Less and less hours, and the dismissal process is totally broken.

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Hard work but good staff

Team Leader/Manager (Current Employee) - Winnipeg, MB - 28 March 2017

Applebee's has gotten me where I am today, it's a hard days work on your feet but the people are good. There is a certain rush when you get through a crazy busy night, like it's a challenge. The flexibility with about of shifts, hours is great. I always like that if I need extra money it's usually easy to pick up shifts.

Pros

good staff, money is there as a server, able to move up if wanted

Cons

long hours on your feet, can get yelled at by staff/guests

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Fun place to work, just not that busy

Server (Current Employee) - Cambridge, ON - 23 January 2017

Applebee's is not what it used to be and has lost its business, and you get sent home more times than you actually start than actually working and making money.

Pros

Great people

Cons

not busy enough

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Fun but no advancement. Could be run better.

Neighbourhood Expert (Current Employee) - Barrie, ON - 6 January 2017

Fun place to work. Not many advancement opportunities. Seems to care about the company more then employees. Management and upper management don't care about the little guys.

Cons

Long hours

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Productive and fun work place with great management

Server/Bartender (Current Employee) - Winnipeg, MB - 21 April 2016

Applebees's is a job that I've had that I have always been excited to go to. The people that I work with have become my friends, the management is tolerant and always eager to help when required. It is an organized place where everyone works well together. Sometimes it can get so busy that your section will fill up in minutes, but with the experience I have I'm always able to keep up but if I were to ever find myself "in the weeds", I know there is always someone I can turn to for help.

Pros

Team Oriented

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Horrible

General Manager (Former Employee) - Ajax, ON - 11 April 2016

Work work work work work. All this company expects you to do is work. 6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day! Zero compliments about anything you do. Zero work life balance.